Fourteen-year-old Dianne Kaye Jacob Ico is going straight to the semi-finals after getting the golden buzzer for her rendition of ”Memory” from the musical Cats in Got Talent España, Spain’s version of the popular Got Talent franchise, which is aired on local TV channel Telecinco.
The high school student, born and raised in Barcelona but whose parents hail from Ilocos and Dagupan, received the direct pass to the semi-finals after the talent search judge Jorge Javier Vázquez pressed the golden buzzer.
“For me, a ‘yes’ is not enough,” said the talk show host, who is a self-confessed fan of the song and considered Ico’s interpretation mature and already good for an actual musical performance.
Another judge, Eva Hache, was amazed with Ico’s showmanship and praised her for singing an English song with excellent diction.
Judge Jesus Vázquez, also host of The Voice Spain, praised Ico for her voice quality but was not totally impressed. He voted “no” because he found Ico nervous in some parts of the song and was “a bit off key.”
Spanish pop star Edurne quickly defended the teen and said that “Memory” was a difficult song to sing but she sang it so well in tune.
Jorge Javier even went to the backstage to personally congratulate Ico and advised her to continue to work on her talent.
Ico has been taking voice lessons for many years and has performed in a number of events in the Filipino community in Barcelona. She was once part of Barcelona-based Kudyapi Children’s Choir, a choir for Spain-born children whose parents are Filipinos.
